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[lapantz]

Hi all, the title was just to get your attention, nothing more

Well I have followed your advice to the letter and went through all the testing procedures in the Stator pages IV but my battery still wont hold a charge.
I have:
replaced the RR and Stator with new parts. I have also checked all connections/wires and have replaced where necessary. What else could be the reason the battery wont hold a charge, it is new too.

81 GS1000GL

Thanks,
Chuck

[Dave8338]

If all the tests turned out to spec, I'd be suspect of the "new" battery. It wouldn't be the first time a junk battery was sold. It happens.

[chiphead]

Do you have a charge rate of 13.5 to 14.5 VDC? If so you may have an electrical draw with the key off that is causing the battery to go dead. Put an amp meter between the positive side of the battery and the positive cable with the key off.

[lapantz]

I never get those high readings. Fully charged barely reads 12 volts. Reving the motor does not increase the reading on the meter. Could grounding be an issue. I connected the ground wire from the RR the same way the old one was, directly to the metal battery case.

[Mark whiz]

Like chiphhead said, if you are getting good output voltage - you may well have an extra draw on the battery, discharging it faster than it can charge.

I am assuming that once the battery is charged that the bike will run for awhile and then finally start sputtering & then stop? I had this issue earlier this year and it ended up being a bad ignition ignitor box causing the issue.

Update - grounding can definitely be a problem. Ground the R/R directly to the frame or engine rather than the battery box. The battery boxes are often mounted on isolation rubbers and that would break your ground.

[DanTheMan]

Ground it to the battery, your charging problems should be solved.

[mf70]

Well I have followed your advice to the letter and went through all the testing procedures in the Stator pages IV but my battery still wont hold a charge.

...

I never get those high readings. Fully charged barely reads 12 volts. Reving the motor does not increase the reading on the meter.

...

I don't understand these two statements.

The stator papers say to test the output of the stator: unregulated, it should be ~50VAC between any two of the three wires from the stator and ZERO VOLTS between any wire and ground; regulated, it should be 13.5 to 14.5 VDC at the battery.

Just because you recently replaced a part is no reason it can't be non-functional now. 12.0VDC isn't enough to charge a battery. It could be a bad ground, as mentioned. Check again.